Chapter 10

⚠Warning⚠  This chapter contains mild fluff.

(Russia's POV)

      Israel came back about 20 minutes later. Germany was still asleep, and Russia could feel himself dozing off. Israel's arrival woke him up just a bit. Israel looked at the two before cracking a smile. He sat on the ground in front of them with ice packs in one hand and a snack in the other.

"You know..you two look really cute together" Israel whispered to keep from waking up.

"Pfft.." Russia said, blushing slightly.

" I know how much you care about him, you know. You care for him like I care for Belgium."

Russia was slightly taken aback.

"You mean...you two aren't a thing?"

"Ha! No way! We're totally just friends. Besides, I'm about as straight as a ruler. He's as straight as an amoeba."

     Russia felt a mild wave of relief wash over him. Maybe he still had a chance with him.

" Don't tell Germany this" Russia began.  "But...I really like him. Like, a lot. After I broke up with my ex, I sorta thought that I'd just be done with love. But then I met him, and... He showed me that I'm capable of trusting and loving again. Just knowing he's around makes me really happy. He's smart, and sweet, and so talented. And he's...really cute.."

Israel smiled at Russia.

" I know. I can tell. I think you should tell him."

"Why? I don't want to scare him away just by telling him out of the blue."

" I think you should tell him because I think he feels the same way about you."

     Russia blushed more. Did Israel actually think that Germany liked him back?

" I think you'll get your chance really soon." Israel added.

"What do you mean?"

"The school's having their bi-annual school dance next Friday."

"You think he'd go? He seems really shy."

"He is. But I'll bet if he knew you were coming, he would go."

     Russia smiled and looked down at Germany. His facial expression still showed that he was in some pain, but it looked like it had eased up.

"I have these ice packs from the freezer. One is for his eye, and the other is for his shoulder. We're gonna have to wake him up so we can place them in the right spot."

Russia nodded. He felt slightly bad for waking up the German. Russia tried to gently shake Germany by the sides, but as soon as he touched Germany, the smaller country winced. Russia saw Germany open his eyes. His black eye was still swollen, and it looked like he could barely see out of it.

"Sorry about that," Russia said apologetically. " I had to wake you so that you could roll over. We have ice for your eye and shoulder."

     Germany blinked but said nothing. He must've been more tired than he thought. Russia watched as Germany tried to sit up. Russia saw Germany grit his teeth in pain, baring his sharp canines. He slowly rolled over onto his back, and be laid his head back on Russia's lap. He seemed exhausted from the effort. Russia pitied the smaller country. Israel came over and placed one of the ice packs over Germany's eye. He placed the second one on his friend's shoulder. All through this process Germany hadn't said a word.

"Do you want ice for your sides?" Israel asked Germany. Germany gave him a weak nod in response. Israel smiled in an attempt to comfort him before leaving.

"R-Russia, my sides hurt..." Germany said after Israel left.

     Russia gave Germany his hand to squeeze. Germany's grip was weaker on his hand this time. Russia hoped that that wasn't a bad sign. He realized that Germany still didn't have his shirt on. He assumed that the nurse may still have it back at the school. Germany yeloed suddenly, likely from the pain. Without thinking, Russia reached down and began to rub the smaller country's belly.

" What are you doing?" Germany asked.

"I don't know." Russia replied. He really didn't know what he was doing.

"It feels nice."

Russia chuckled and continued to gently rub the German's stomach. He hoped Japan wouldn't walk in on this happening; he would never hear the end of it.

     He stopped when Israel came back with ice and wrap bandages. Russia helped Germany sit up. He unwrapped Germany's old bandages, revealing the bruises that were on his sides. Russia hadn't seen them yet, but he almost regretted seeing them. They were a sickening greenish-purple and covered most of Germany's sides. Russia felt the sick feeling resurrect. Israel must've seen them already, because he placed the ice on and wrapped the bandages around them without as much as a flinch.

"We have to leave those on for a little bit. It's gonna be uncomfortable, but it will help numb the pain for a bit."

     After a minute or so, Japan came back. She had Germany's shirt with her.

"The nurse said that Germany needed a lot of rest. She said he might have a bad headache, but he should be fine to come back as long as his bruises were iced. I see Israel has already done that. I also have your shirt, but you may not want to put it back on right now."

"Israel, c-can I stay the night here?" Germany asked quietly.

"Sure, as long as your dad doesn't mind. My parents won't mind either-they have guests over all the time."

"Why don't we all stay?" Japan suggested.

"I'm down for that." Russia said.

     All 4 pulled out their phones and tested their parents. Israel got Germany's phone from his backpack for him.

Russia texted his dad.

R: Hey Dad, can I stay the night at a friend's place?

S: Yeah sure. Do you need to come home so you can get stuff to change into?

R: Yeah

S: Ok

●□●□●□

     Russia was back from his house. Though he had insisted against it, Germany had walked home to get his stuff. He hoped he would be okay to walk there and back.

     When he reached Israel's house, everyone except Germany was there, Israel's parents had put a pizza in the oven earlier, and that was going to be their dinner for the night. Shortly after Russia arrived, Germany showed up. Russia immediately noticed that his knee had a gash in it that wasn't there before.

"What happened to your knee?" He asked, grabbing the stuff from Germany's arms.

"I fell."

     Russia asked Israel for something that cleans cuts. Israel brought Russia a hydrogen peroxide spray. Russia told Germany to sit on the pull-out bed that he and Germany would be sharing for the night.

" This is going to sting." Russia warned Germany. He then sprayed the peroxide over the cut. Germany winced slightly but said nothing. Russia put a large Band-Aid over the gash.

"Danke." Germany said. Russia knew what that meant. He could understand German but not speak it. Israel brought the pizza into the room. Everyone are and got ready to go to bed.

       Once everyone had showered and put their pajamas on, they got settled into where they were sleeping. Japan was sleeping in a sleeping bag, Israel on an air mattress, and Russia and Germany shared a fold-out bed.

       Russia grabbed a large blanket and laid down. He had let Germany choose what side he wanted to sleep on. He ended up sleeping on the right. Russia and Germany faced each other before going to sleep.

"Good night, Germany." Russia said.

"Night." Germany replied with a yawn.

      Germany was the second to last person to go to sleep. Israel and Japan had gone to sleep almost immediately. When Russia was sure that Germany was asleep, he leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on the small German's forehead.

( Hope you guys liked this chapter! Just a heads up, the chapter after this one will be a time jump from this moment to the Thursday before the dance. I wanted to say this now so that there isn't any confusion later.)

Story word count: 1,301 words